Clare Short's Claws

Well, the amazing saga of Clare Short’s position over the Gulf War has come to an end. She has managed to upset both the pro-war (through being clearly against the Iraq invasion), and the anti-war (through not resigning when she said she would) groups. I felt betrayed by her when she stood with the Government - her rebellion then would have probably secured another group of votes against the war (on what was already a massive revolt), but probably not enough to cause a vote of confidence in Tony Blair or (because of the war-mongering right wing support) - a lost vote. Maybe trying to make up for the damage to her anti-war position, she has launched a scathing attack on Tony Blair and the current mess that is Iraq. This is how she summarised in her resignation letter:

“As you know, I thought the run-up to the conflict in Iraq was mishandled, but I agreed to stay in the government to help support the reconstruction effort for the people of Iraq.
I am afraid that the assurances you gave me about the need for a UN mandate to establish a legitimate Iraqi government have been breached.
The security council resolution that you and Jack [Straw, the foreign secretary] have so secretly negotiated contradicts the assurance I have given in the House of Commons and elsewhere about the legal authority of the occupying powers, and the need for a UN-led process to establish a legitimate Iraqi government. This makes my position impossible.”

For all the flaws of the development process, she was a brilliant at her job as International Development secretary. She had hoped that post-Iraq War, that the UK Government could influence the US to open up to a more multilateral and responsible approach (rather naive, eh Clare?). She obviously hadn’t bothered reading very much about the crooks currently in the White House, or had hoped the American democratic process could temper the Bush Boys in their dirty game.

Posted by Ian at May 13, 2003 05:42 PM | TrackBack §